1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wheelchairs, related devices, and methods for use, particularly for transportation.
2. Description of Related Art
For many, the wheelchair serves as an essential conveyance for performing common activities that would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible, such as moving about in one's home, going shopping at the store, attending public gatherings, tending to a garden, and playing at the park with one's family. For some, such activities may be performed independently, while for others considerable assistance may be necessary; the wheelchair is thus useful in both the context of independent mobility and in that of assistive transportation of a person with a disability. Whereas the wheelchair has traditionally been viewed as an object of confinement, recent advances in wheelchair technology, improved accessibility standards, and increasingly open-minded attitudes regarding the topic of disability have elevated the wheelchair as a tool for health, personal enjoyment and freedom.
Individuals who utilize wheelchairs for their daily mobility typically do so under the direction of physicians, licensed physical therapists, and other clinicians who are well-versed in the application of adaptive mobility devices. Ideally, clinicians also educate and encourage their patients to engage in physical activity, to the greatest extent that their abilities will allow, for the sake of overall physical and psychological well-being. Such activity helps to maintain cardiovascular health, muscle strength and endurance, flexibility, range of motion, and an attitude of health and vitality. Additionally, clinical practices emphasize the independence and safety of the individual, looking at his or her day-to-day activities in the home, in the neighborhood, and in the surrounding community.
The contrast between indoor floor surfaces and outdoor terrain may vary depending on seasonal factors such as rain and snowfall, which significantly impact traction; this may be further influenced by the frequency of efforts in the locale, or lack thereof, to maintain and clear roadways, sidewalks, and driveways. For example, urban residences may benefit from prompt snow removal and de-icing services, whether by public services or by private grounds maintenance crews, whereas rural neighborhoods or farmsteads may not have access to such services. A wheelchair user residing rurally is thus likely to experience a more profound contrast between the indoor environment and that of the outdoors.
Transit in urban environments as well as long-distance travel involving transportation in vehicles such as cars, buses, trains, airplanes, small watercraft, or larger vessels, require the wheelchair user to adapt to the space allowed inside the vehicle upon boarding and to again adapt to the space outside the vehicle upon arriving at his or her destination. Quickly and successfully transitioning from one environment to the next requires knowledge and confidence on the part of the user as well as a suitably versatile wheelchair arrangement.
The aforementioned considerations are central to prior and ongoing efforts to develop adaptive devices which enable a wheelchair user, caretaker, assistant, or medical staff member to rapidly reconfigure a wheelchair according to the demands of the physical environment being encountered, especially in a manner which allows the user to remain comfortably seated throughout the process of reconfiguring the wheelchair.